German Consulate in Opole

Yesterday Grandma took Agnieszka and the kids to a large pool complex, where the kids had a really good time. Alex doesn’t want to do anything else now – he constantly talks about the slides and tubes. He wants to go to the pool every day.

In the meantime, I took my Father to Opole – a town about 100 km North West from Chorzów. We had some business at the German Consulate, and despite the bad weather forecast I decided to take the camera with me. I’m glad I did. Opole is an old German town and thanks to significant support from the European Union it starts to look nice again. I didn’t have much time to walk around, but due to my credit card failure, I had to find an ATM. The German Consulate is very close to the center of the city, where I’ve found the nearest machine. That gave me an opportunity to take a few shots.

On the way back it started raining. First it was just a few drops, but then the temperature dropped from 33C (92F) down to 17C (62F) in just half an hour and the clouds spilled tons of water. In Poland usually everyone drives on a highway slightly (<10%) over the speed limit of 130 km/h (80 mph). Some people drive significantly faster (125 mph or more). And that regardless of weather. For them pouring rain and poor visibility is no excuse to slow down. Good thing the road between Opole and Chorzów is kept in excellet shape.

@sdildine2008 Hey Shirley! Apparently it’s an Italian tradition, started by Frederico Mocci in his book “I Desire You, I Want You” (Italian: Ho Voglia DI TE). Couples in love are supposed to close the lock on the bridge, kiss and throw the key into the river. That’s a way to lock their love forever. The tradition in Opole was started few years ago by local students.

@sdildine2008 Hey Shirley! Apparently it’s an Italian tradition, started by Frederico Mocci in his book “I Desire You, I Want You” (Italian: Ho Voglia DI TE). Couples in love are supposed to close the lock on the bridge, kiss and throw the key into the river. That’s a way to lock their love forever. The tradition in Opole was started few years ago by local students.

While reading “German Consulate in Opole” , I realized that author called Opole – “German City”. Just for your information – Opole from the beginning was “Slavic City” and here is more accurate history of Opole: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opole

Hey Margaret , I forgot how politically loaded a statement like that can be…;-) Especially for Poles outside of Upper Silesia. Here, we have three major (and several minor) nations: the Polish, the German, and the Silesian. I’m a Silesian and my statement relates to the era when most of the still standing buildings were build, nothing more.

Thanks. You are right – it could be read as a political statemment but also it could be read as simple historical inofarmation and understood by many as fact, that Opole was a German City. I do not mean to bring up nationalities, especially in United Europe, but I do believe in straighting up historical facts – the same way that Poles correct everyone who calles Concentration Camps – “Polish Concentration Camps’ just because they were build in Poland, I felt like correcting the fact that Opole in its origin never was German City…Thanks for clarifying that…

Sounds like a nice versatile lens. I am learning too with Sony A300 and have a Tamron 17-50 2.8 and 70-200 2.8. It makes me feel better knowing I am not the only one without a Nikon or Cannon ;). Have fun with it – your pictures will be like a virtual vacation for the rest of us ;)!